KYIV — At a glance on a clear summer’s afternoon, the US-made Avenger air defence system is barely visible in the shadow of trees at the end of a dirt track outside Kyiv.
The short-range unit is an important part of a three-layered air defence network that Ukraine is trying to develop with a range of highly sophisticated Western systems to thwart Russian air attacks.
Russia has unleashed regular long-distance missile and drone attacks since October, but it seriously increased strikes in May as Ukraine prepared for a counteroffensive this month.
The strikes, which regularly kill civilians, look at least in part aimed at depleting air defence stocks so that fewer systems can be used to protect troops trying to advance under Russian air superiority, Kyiv officials say.
“The most difficult is an attack by various types of aerial targets,” said the Avenger unit’s commander who goes by the call sign “Architect”, his pre-war profession.
“When they arrive in one night, both (drones) and cruise missiles fly by, that’s the most difficult.”
He leads a six-man team that took up positions two weeks ago after being trained by US military instructors in Europe. They are yet to shoot down any missiles or drones.
They join an unfolding air battle that has played out over several weeks during which Ukraine has reported an extraordinary rate of downed drones and missiles, including hypersonic ones.
On Friday, Ukraine said it shot down all six cruise missiles and six hypersonic Kinzhal missiles fired at targets in and around the capital.
But strikes still regularly slip past defences. Last Wednesday, three civilians were killed in a missile attack in Odesa. The day before 11 were killed in a strike on President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s hometown.
